Memorial Day Grilling & Chillin

    Memorial Day Grilling & Chillin’  

    By Jacqueline Gomes, RDN, MBA

    Memorial Day signals the start of summer and it’s the perfect time to embrace fresh, seasonal ingredients. If you’re hosting a get together, choosing fresh and natural ingredients will make your dishes stand out.

    • Grilling is an obvious choice! Lean protein, such as lean beef and turkey, provide essential nutrients like protein to fuel activity and are delicious on the grill.
    • Vegetarian? No problem, grill firm or extra firm tofu on a well-greased grill grate.
    • Don’t forget about your veggies, zucchini, eggplant, asparagus and peppers are perfect for grilling.
    • For snacks and dessert cut up fresh watermelon and add in a variety of berries to serve along side ice cream – a total crowd pleaser!

    Enjoy these fun and healthy turkey meatball kebabs at your Memorial Day get together!

    Turkey Meatball Kebabs with Vegetables

    Red, White & Blue Turkey Meatball Kebabs

    Prep: 15 minutes

    Cook: 10 minutes

    Makes: 8 Skewers

    Ingredients:

    • 1 pound Shady Brook 93% Lean ground Turkey
    • ½ cup plain bread crumbs
    • 1 large egg
    • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
    • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
    • Kosher salt & pepper
    • 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
    • 1 red bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces
    • 1 Vidalia onion, cut into 2 inch pieces
    • ½ eggplant cut into 1 inch cubes (skin on)
    • Filippo Berio Olive oil for drizzling
    • 8 Wooden or metal skewers*

    Directions:

    1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
    2. Prepare meatballs: In a large bowl combine ground turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, Italian seasoning, cumin, salt & pepper, garlic. Mix well.
    3. Form mixture into 1 inch meatballs.
    4. Thread meatballs, pepper, onion and eggplant onto each wooden skewer, alternating ingredients.
    5. Drizzle each skewers with olive oil. Grill on medium high heat, about 5 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer skewers to a plate and serve with lemon wedges or salsa.

    *If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for about 15 minutes before threading with ingredients.

    Nutrition Information per skewer:

    131 calories; 6.5g carbohydrate; 6.5g fat; 13g carbohydrate; 119mg sodium; 2g fiber